McKay's Taphouse & Beer Garden — Restaurant in Pleasanton

This is my first time writing a review and breaks my heart as I love to support our hometown businesses. As someone who lives in downtown and enjoys coming to Mckays, my first and last experience with the owner is worth reporting.

I've never been spoken to with such blatant disrespect. From name calling to cursing at me the owner displayed abhorrent and disgusting behavior. I think he believed I wanted to a) get access to his reception area b) use their restroom but rather c) I was asking if there was a way to avoid the entrance with the massive spider decor (and was directed to do so by the security staff). Yes I am an adult with a ridiculous fear of spiders. It's honestly quite silly and we have had a laugh about it with the rest of the staff after. However, when I mentioned this to the owner he spoke over me, cursed at me and flaunted the fact that he owned spot and pays the security, so I needed to get out. After recounting my experience with the servers they apologized and said that unfortunately it was a common occurrence. Surrounding witnesses said they too had a terrible experience. Owner should be avoided and has lost...

I really enjoyed this place. However, my first impression was not a good one. A person really needs to know how to enter the establishment. What appeared to me to be the front door was actually the door leading to a hallway with the restrooms. After walking through the strange hallway, I ended up on a backyard patio. I had to stand there for a few long seconds and take in what was going on. After I regained what little control of my brain I have, I made my way to the bar and received expert instructions from the bartender. With beer and food ordered, I selected a table and was able to start taking in the atmosphere while sipping a great beer. It's a pleasant place with a relaxed vibe. The food was brought to the table quickly. The meat candy was awesome, as were the bacon-wrapped asparagus. I would definitely visit this location again if I ever find myself in this part of California, and I would recommend that others do the same. Oh, and enter through the alley next to the building. This is how the...

We had a pleasant experience here. The bartender inside was very friendly and helpful and gave us the tip that the line for ordering drinks tends to be shorter inside rather than in the garden. The beers she recommended were tasty. The food sounded amazing but ended up a little underwhelming. The pretzel seemed like a slightly stale or overcooked costco pretzel. It wasn't terrible but it certainly wasn't as good as it looked. The tri-tip sandwich was ok but by no means amazing. It was a little dry. They made it sound like the sauce was fantastic but then my sandwich had so little of the sauce on it I almost felt like I needed to ask for bbq sauce or hotsauce or something to keep it from being so dry. We had a good time but mainly due to the environment. Sitting outside and chatting with some nice people was relaxing. My lady's burger was a little bit more appealing than my steak sandwich but I think we will experiment with different menu items...